Sunday, January 22, 2012

Posted by Youtube user: TheYoungTurks“Only days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major concern expressed by opponents and then called for all parties to work cooperatively together, some technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to agree is very real and damaging.

It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use their services. It is also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today. It’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their corporate interests. A so-called “blackout” is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals. It is our hope that the White House and the Congress will call on those who intend to stage this “blackout” to stop the hyperbole and PR stunts and engage in meaningful efforts to combat piracy.”

For me, this was the single most infuriating and insulting revelation to arise from the SOPA protests. Not the statement itself, which is so obviously inconsistent with reality that it's not really worth spending time on, but the realization that the messenger was a former senator who somehow managed to retire directly into a million dollar a year job as the CEO of a major corporation. A former senator that is now lobbying his friends and former co-workers in the government to grant his new employer greater legal protection. How much more obvious can the point possibly be made that the only "pawns" working in the name of corporations, are shills like Chris Dodd, and his counter parts in our government?